Legacy Gold Mine Sites & Dumps in the Witwatersrand: Challenges and Required Action

Abstract

Legacy mine shafts and waste dumps in the Witwatersrand continue to create social and environmental challenges for communities, even in areas where gold mining ceased over 100 years ago. The slow pace of eradication of these gold mine shafts and waste dumps (or lack thereof) results in conflict between the communities and authorities, particularly the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) as the relevant authority in the field of environmental management in mining. This paper examines, through a literature review, the past and present legislative framework that resulted in legacy mine shafts and dumps and how communities find themselves living next to these mine sites, which results in social and environmental problems. The paper further explores the governments, particularly the DMRE, proposed initiatives to empower those who intend to extract value from the abandoned mines while curbing the scourge of crime in affected communities.

Goals of Restoration Ecology and the Role of Grasses in the Processes as Seen in Southeastern Africa Restoration Projects

“…There has been much discussion recently on the illegal reworking of the old mines, and the legality and laws that have been introduced to control both the illegal mining and the disposal of the spoil in the past. These aspects have all been well reviewed by Mabaso [66] and are beyond the scope of the present review of rehabilitation.…”